


you don't have to say it (say it)

by breakthesewallsdown



Category: Green Arrow and the Canaries (TV), dinahsiren
Genre: F/F, Friends to Lovers, Idiots in Love, Love Confessions, Yes that one - Freeform, dinahsiren - Freeform, laurel figures it out, they address the lyric change in 809
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:42:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26756716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/breakthesewallsdown/pseuds/breakthesewallsdown
Summary: “Why did you change the lyrics?”She lets go of Dinah’s wrist now, allowing her to pull away if she wants to. There’s a puzzled look on Dinah’s face as if she’s not completely sure what Laurel is talking about.“What do you mean?”orthe one where laurel realizes that dinah sang the wrong lyrics and she needs to know why.
Relationships: Dinah Drake & Earth-2 Laurel Lance, Dinah Drake/Earth-2 Laurel Lance
Comments: 7
Kudos: 49





	you don't have to say it (say it)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tomazalghul](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tomazalghul/gifts).



> andddd another dinahsiren fic! 
> 
> inspired by my friend morgan (@tomazalghul) who said "I wonder what would go down with Laurel realizing that Dinah changed the lyrics" so i decided to turn it into something soft. have fun with it. 
> 
> unbeta'd and not proofread because i am me <3 
> 
> • lyrics from touch by the aces

The first time it happens Laurel doesn’t really pay attention to it. 

She’s in town shopping for some winter clothes as the song’s playing through the speakers. She recognizes it, of course she does, but she’s too busy trying to get through the sea of people to pay too much attention to the lyrics. All she wants right now is to get out of this store with the sweaters she needs and go home to Dinah. 

Dinah.

The one person she never thought she’d be this close with. Considering where they come from Laurel thinks it’s a whole miracle that they’ve grown so fond of each other. Laurel can’t really imagine her life without Dinah anymore. All she thinks it’d feel like is empty and cold and just not the life Laurel would want to live anymore. She thinks it’d be too much like it used to be. 

The thought of Dinah waiting for her back home makes a smile appear on her lips. Everything about the other woman tugs at her insides, begs to be paid attention to. Laurel never thought she’d ever feel like this about anyone ever again, especially not at first. And then when she realized she had feelings for her Laurel didn’t know what to do at first. She figured that pretending they weren’t an actual thing were the best thing she could do. 

It’s only when she’s waiting at the checkout that she pays attention to the lyrics of the song, her mind immediately going back to when Dinah was singing the moment she stepped into the bar. The notes of the piano, Dinah’s voice- deep yet soft. Totally different from the upbeat version that’s currently playing on the radio. 

_Sunny one so true, I love you._

And, wait. What? 

Laurel waits and listens with all her attention, frowning slightly when the singer sings the wrong lyrics once again. But then she figures it might just be the version of the song, figures that the singer just decided to change the lyrics to make it sound better. 

While she pays for her clothes, Laurel can’t help but let her mind wander. She thanks the employee quickly and snatches her bag before rushing out of the store. Her phone’s in her hand before she thinks better of it and her Apple Music is opening just a few seconds later. 

_Sunny._

Marvin Gaye.  
Boney M.  
Bobby Hebb. 

Laurel clicks on them all and immediately checks out the lyrics. She scrolls until she hits the chorus. _I love you. I love you. I love you_. 

But she so vividly remembers Dinah singing differently. I’m in love with you. Those words might not seem very different, but to Laurel they mean the world. The possibility of what it could mean terrifies her, but the more she thinks about it the more desperate she gets to know the truth. 

As she makes her way home she can’t stop thinking about it. Why did Dinah change the lyrics? Did she always sing something else or was it just this time? Just because Laurel was there? But then she didn’t know that Laurel was going to be there, so was it an impulsive in the moment kind of thing, or did she put a lot of thought in it? 

And what does it mean? 

It’s not like Laurel has never thought about Dinah reciprocating her feelings. It’s on Laurel’s mind more than she’d like to admit, she just never lets herself really hope anything will ever happen. It’s a bit too good to be true. 

The lyric change doesn’t leave her mind the whole way home. It’s all she can think about and the possible explanations make her go crazy. What if it was just an accident? What if there’s no reason why Dinah changed the lyrics? 

As she walks into the Fish Net and greets Nuka behind the bar, their smile wide as they see Laurel walk past, Laurel tries to get herself together enough to confront Dinah. Maybe if she asks she’ll finally get the closure she needs to move on from her feelings for Dinah. 

The ride on the elevator feels like forever. Her bags are itching in her hand and at this point she’s just about ready to burst. As soon as the doors open Laurel glances around the room, finding Dinah behind the stove. Their eyes lock and Dinah’s lips immediately tug up into a smile. 

All Laurel was about to say drifts away as she looks at Dinah. She looks so soft and smiley under the kitchen light that Laurel almost drops her bags from her hands. 

“Hey,” Dinah greets her happily, “Sit down. Dinner’s ready. I made your favorite.” 

“You did?” 

Dinah nods as she turns off the stove. Laurel goes to put her bags on the couch, draping her jacket over the armrest. She feels Dinah’s eyes follow her every move, but she can’t get herself to look back. Not yet. It’s only when she hears Dinah put the pans on the table that she turns back towards her, small smile on her face. Dinah looks adorable. 

“I hope you’ll like it.” She says, motioning for Laurel to sit down. “Do you want red or white wine?” 

“Red is fine.” Laurel replies carefully, taking a seat at the table. 

She watches as Dinah reaches for a bottle and two glasses. She fills their glasses and hands Laurel hers, their fingers brushing together softly. Laurel takes a sip as Dinah takes a seat in front of her, her eyes never leaving Dinah. She doesn’t really know what to say, doesn’t know how to bring up the song and the lyrics and the feelings, but she decides then and there that she’ll do it tonight. 

They share the meal mostly in silence. It’s only when Dinah brings up Laurel’s little shopping trip that Laurel tenses. Her hands clench around the cutlery she’s holding, eyes trained on the leftovers still on her plate. 

“Did you have fun?” Dinah asks when she keeps quiet. 

Laurel swallows, “Yeah. It was alright. Very busy. Too busy.” 

Dinah laughs softly. Of course she knows how much Laurel hates crowds, how she absolutely detests going shopping especially during weekends like today. She asks Laurel what she bought and Laurel promises to show her later, after dinner and after they did the dishes. 

The rest of dinner goes by basically the same. They talk a bit about their day, Dinah once again having some story about one of her customers. Laurel loves hearing her talk. She loves it when Dinah gets all swept up in her story. She just loves seeing Dinah in her element. 

Laurel cleans the table while Dinah starts on the dishes. She moves their wine glasses from the kitchen table to the coffee table in the living room, sure they’ll resume their late night drinking on the couch. 

She goes back to the kitchen to help Dinah with the dishes, grabbing a towel from the rack to dry the plates that Dinah hands her. They share a soft smile in the low kitchen light and Laurel feels her insides tingle. She can’t get over Dinah’s smile.

Laurel never thought she’d be deserving of that smile. She never thought she’d get these moments with Dinah, so it’s safe to say she’s grateful for all she gets now. No matter how small the moments are. 

She’s putting the plates back in the cupboard when she hears it. Dinah’s humming their song. That song. The song that Laurel dubbed their song. She almost drops the plates on the counter, but she’s quick to catch herself and put them back where they belong. She closes the cupboard quickly before turning towards Dinah, who’s glancing at her with that same soft smile on her face. 

“What?” Laurel asks, song long forgotten. 

Dinah shrugs lamely as she dries her hands on a towel, “Nothing.”

Laurel frowns, leaning back against the counter, arms crossed over her chest. She raises an eyebrow and tilts her head, one corner of her mouth tugging up into a small smirk. 

“Nothing?” 

“Not really,” Dinah says, dropping the towel on the counter and crossing her arms in return. 

Laurel feels her heart beat rapidly in her chest at the look Dinah is sending her. She can’t help but let her mind wander and hope. What if Dinah does feel the same way about her? What if she’s waiting for Laurel to make a move? But Laurel can’t let herself hope too much, not after everything. 

“Do you wanna watch something?” Dinah asks, turning to walk back towards the couch. 

Laurel reaches out before she can think better of it, her hand closing around Dinah’s wrist. Dinah looks at her over her shoulder, a worried look on her face as she takes in Laurel’s wide eyes. 

“Wait,” Laurel mutters, fingers still tight around Dinah’s wrist. 

Dinah turns back and takes a step closer, never once pulling away from Laurel. She seeks her gaze and holds it when they lock eyes, and Laurel sees nothing there but care and understanding. And she wants to say something, she really does. She wants to ask about the song and the lyrics and the _I’m in love with you_ , but she doesn’t know how to bring it up without making things awkward.

“Thank you.” Is what she manages to say. “For dinner and everything.” 

Dinah’s face morphs from confusion and worry into gentleness and she smiles at Laurel, gentle and beautiful. “Of course.” 

Laurel shakes her head, brows furrowed. She doesn’t know how to bring it up, doesn’t know how to talk about this without making things weird. But she wants to know- she _needs_ to know. 

“Why did you change the lyrics?” 

She lets go of Dinah’s wrist now, allowing her to pull away if she wants to. There’s a puzzled look on Dinah’s face as if she’s not completely sure what Laurel is talking about. 

“What do you mean?” 

Laurel sighs and runs a hand through her hair. “Never mind. It’s stupid.” 

She goes to walk past Dinah, but this time it’s she who stops Laurel from walking away. Her hand is strong as she pulls Laurel to a halt. All Laurel wants to do is take her words back and just move on. Watch a movie with Dinah where they sit too close to each other for it to be platonic, sipping their wine as they laugh about the movie. 

“Talk to me.” 

Laurel can’t refuse Dinah. Not when her voice is so gentle and soft and warm and raspy all at once. She turns back towards her, eyes casted down to where they’re touching. 

“The song you were singing when I first walked into the bar,” Laurel mutters, Dinah’s fingers burning around her wrist, “You sang the wrong lyrics. Why?” 

Dinah’s quick to let go of Laurel’s wrist, anxiously running a finger through her curls. A soft sigh escapes her lips, making Laurel look up at her. There’s a fire surging through Laurel now as she takes note of the nervous look on Dinah’s face, as if it’s spurring her on. Making her feel more confident. 

“I heard the song in town today. The lyrics are _I love you_. Why did you change them?” 

Dinah doesn’t say anything, her arms limp at her sides, eyes wide and wet. Laurel feels like she’s going to start crying, but she doesn’t know why. 

“Laurel, I-” Dinah sighs, shaking her head. “I can’t-”

“You can tell me it was a mindless change. That you always sing the song like that. That me showing up randomly didn’t matter, that it didn’t change anything.” Laurel says. “You can tell me that and I’ll let it go.” 

Dinah is still shaking her head, lower lip wobbling, eyes looking across Laurel’s face frantically. Laurel doesn’t know why she’s so emotional, doesn’t know what caused Dinah to react like this, but now that she’s said something about it she can’t stop. 

“Please, Dee.” Laurel asks, stepping closer. 

“I- I didn’t realize until I sang it,” Dinah whispers, “I’ve sang that song so many times, never once messed up. But then you show up and I- I lose it all.” 

Laurel exhales heavily, the knowledge that this means something to Dinah too almost too much to bear. She reaches out to cup Dinah’s cheek, tucking a curl back behind her ear, hand lingering for a second before she drops it again. 

“Why, Dinah?” 

“Because it’s how I feel,” Dinah admits quietly. “About you.” 

Laurel’s eyes widen. “You do?” 

“Is that stupid?” Dinah asks. “I didn’t even realize I sang the wrong lyrics until after. I didn’t even know why at first until I started thinking about it. Really thinking about it.” 

“That’s not stupid.” 

All Laurel wants to do now is pull Dinah closer and kiss her. Finally actually kiss her. With the way Dinah is looking at her Laurel thinks that might be what she wants, too. But there’s so much Laurel still wants to talk about. So much she still wants to hear from Dinah. 

“I get it if you don’t feel the same way.” Dinah says, voice sad, eyes downcast. 

“What?” Laurel asks, shocked Dinah could even doubt that, “I’ve been thinking about why you changed that lyric for the past two hours.” 

“You have?” 

Laurel nods. “I was scared to bring it up in case you just changed the lyrics randomly and I was getting my hopes up for nothing.” 

“Really?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Oh.” 

Dinah looks up at her, her lower lip tucked between her teeth. Laurel has difficulty not stepping closer, not reaching out. But knowing Dinah feels the same way about her makes her bold, so she throws caution to the wind and swiftly steps into Dinah’s personal space, her hand brushing against Dinah’s as she does so. Dinah closes her eyes for a second, a smile blooming on her face.

“I am so in love with you, Laurel,” Dinah says softly, her hand flipping over so their palms can touch, their fingers interlocking almost immediately, “It’s crazy, because I never thought I’d be here and I never ever thought I’d feel this way about you, but you made your way into my heart and made it your own.”

Laurel feels like she’s about to burst. The woman in front of her is spilling all her feelings and all Laurel can think about is kissing her- finally feeling her lips against her own. 

“And it’s okay if you can’t say it back or you’re not there yet. I know we have a rocky history and things are complicated, but I wanna see where this could go if that’s something you’d want, too.” 

The urge to just interrupt Dinah is strong, but on the other hand it’s adorable to see her ramble like this. It seems so out of character, but Laurel absolutely loves it. She reaches out with her free hand to now fully cup Dinah’s cheek, her thumb rubbing up and down her skin softly. 

“Stop talking,” Laurel says softly as Dinah shuffles closer absentmindedly, the hand on her cheek leading her to exactly where she’s supposed to be, “You really need to stop talking.” 

Dinah sighs and smiles, leaning into Laurel’s touch. “So?” 

“So what?” 

“Do you want to try this?” Dinah asks, insecurity laced in her voice. “Us?” 

And Laurel smiles, because of course she does. And now seems like the perfect time to let Dinah know exactly how she feels about her. The smile beaming on Dinah’s face as she takes in Laurel’s expression makes Laurel’s heart burst in her chest. 

“I do,” Laurel whispers, leaning in closer until their noses are touching. 

Dinah sighs against Laurel’s lips and it’s all it takes for Laurel to close the distance between them and finally press their lips together. Dinah melts into her almost immediately, the hand that’s not holding onto Laurel’s coming to rest on Laurel’s hip, squeezing just enough. Laurel pulls Dinah flush against her, kissing her softly for a second more before pulling back to look at her. 

“The things I feel for you, Dinah Drake,” She mutters, never once breaking their eye contact, “They’re out of this world.”


End file.
